RocketReviews.com - Estes - AGM-57X Heatseeker (2158) [1998-2004]

Brief: This is an E2X series - requires minimal construction time and no painting is required. Builds completely with plastic model cement. Produces a sharp looking military style rocket in about 1/2 hour! This is one of the new releases for 1999.

Construction: The kit comes packaged in a graphic intensive cardboard box. Inside the parts are bagged. My kit was part of the first production run and I found no errors in packing or instructions. The well illustrated instructions take you from opening the box to flight prep in 8 steps. The kit uses pre-colored & slotted body tubes in combination with plastic fins. Anyone that has built a plastic model kit and/or is familiar with the use of plastic model cement should have no difficulty building a rocket to be proud of!

Finishing: The Estes E2X Series of kits require no painting so finishing consists of applying the peel & stick decals. The Heat Seeker kit includes a large decal sheet that really dresses up the rocket.

Flight: This kit suggests the use of the following motors (& corresponding predicted alt.):

Flights on C6-5 have proven to be very exciting! The Heat Seeker flies straight and true. Estes' prediction of 800' appears to be about right.

Recovery: The 12" parachute is pre-assembled. We did have the original chute strip on a C6-5. The airframe landed on the field with no damage.

Summary: I like the looks and the performance of this kit. There is minimal time and money involved which translates into a "frequent flyer" for most people. My 6 year old thinks it's one of the coolest kits in the catalog. This would make a great rainy afternoon project to get some quality time with the kids!

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
1999-05-21	Klint Mann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	Nice low flight
1999-06-13	Klint Mann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Notes-MMMM Went high and drifted far this is defenetly not eney motorfor windy days
1999-10-26	Scott Smith's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B4-4	-	First and last flight - very squirrely.
1999-11-23	Klint Mann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-6	-	Controller batterys died
1999-12-25	Klint Mann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-7	-	Couldent see till ejection
2000-08-27	Greg Jordan's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	shock chord burnd throw
2000-10-09	Klint Mann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-7	-	This Is one of my favorit rockets
2000-10-15	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	Great first flight. Windcocked a bit, then straight as an arrow. Landed 30 feet from pad. Height...
2000-11-19	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-5	-	Good flight. Deployed chute just after apogee. Crosswind took it out directly from pad. Rod Angle...
2000-11-19	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B4-2	-	Straight as an arrow following angled rod. Winds heavy, @17mph, rod angle 25 degrees, Landed 50 ft...
2000-11-24	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Launched like it was on rails! Fantastic motionand achieved altitude in a flash. Delay is...
2000-11-24	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-5	-	Great flight with chute deploying after apogee. Landed just fine; Wind 4-5mph, rod angle 5...
2001-01-06	William Beggs's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Great flight and recovery.
2001-05-14	Donald Besaw's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-6	-	Nice high flight and recovery. Landed close to pad.
2001-07-22	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Great first flight
2001-07-29	Mike DDD's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Beautiful flyer on this engine!! Only problem was shock cord burn through. All part recovered w/o...
2001-08-11	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	rocket went unstable for no known reason. Struck the ground, no chute, no damage.
2001-08-19	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	great flight
2001-09-02	Carl Tulanko's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Great, fast launch but ejection was early. Landed safely on a streamer. A really durable rocket,...
2001-09-03	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	perfect
2001-11-10	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	AGF
2002-01-05	Jason Vennard's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	CATO'd right off the rod, don't know what the problem was, had a homemade parachute in which made...
2002-04-23	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	AGF
2002-05-11	Larry Zeilmann's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	weak motor today
2002-07-27	Jason Vennard's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Wind tester for today's launches. Good flight, however shock chord burnt through at ejection, nose...
2002-08-07	Steven Scheirer's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B4-4	-	200 feet up and went horizontal. Shock cord riped and nosecone landed on the roof.
2002-12-15	Jason Vennard's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Good flight and recovery.
2003-04-12	Jason Vennard's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Good flight and recovery, straight boost. 12 nylon chute
2003-06-29	Scott Oblander's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B4-4	-	Nosed into wind almost horizontal.
2003-08-04	Jason Vennard's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Don't know what happened here, started spiralling and looping right off the rod, then lawn darted,...
2003-08-30	Scott Oblander's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	Nice straight flight
2003-09-06	Vinnie Valenti's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Went up real swirly and it was cool.
2003-09-21	Vinnie Valenti's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Twisted and went way to the west.
2003-10-18	Scott Oblander's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	Straight flight, burned through shockcord
2004-01-24	Kyle Hancock's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Good flight.
2004-02-19	Edward Wranosky's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Went into cruise missile mode and about 300 yards downrange. Ejected almost at ground. Recovered...
2004-03-06	Edward Wranosky's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Rod was bent and couldn't get straight. Went a little off but ejected on the way down. Both parts...
2004-03-14	Kyle Hancock's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-
2005-02-13	Allen Smolenaars's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Chute was packed a bit too tight on this launch, and it came down hard on ice. Crack/dented the...
2005-02-13	Allen Smolenaars's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	100 feet	Only went up about 100ft, but this was a first time ever flight on a small engine. Flew straight...
2005-04-16	Nathan Rupp's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-7	-	Straight up, and ejected great with good chute deployment. Long, long walk afterwards!
2005-04-16	Nathan Rupp's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-2	-	Good liftoff, ejection good, but chute tangled, recovered much like a streamer recovery
2005-05-14	Nathan Rupp's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-7	-	Weathercocked at launch. Good flight otherwise. Spent way to much time looking for the rocket -...
2005-05-14	Nathan Rupp's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-5	-	Much better flight than the first. Went up almost straight above the flightline, then drifed over...
2005-05-14	Nathan Rupp's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Another great liftoff on a smaller moter (ran out of C's). Last flight of the day from the Estes...
2005-05-21	Alan Tuskes's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	C6-3	-	Lots of tip off on this flight. Left the rd, then arc'd over and flew far down range. Had lots of...
2005-09-11	Allen Smolenaars's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-	Used a 12 chute with a large spill-hole as winds were gusting. Perfect flight.
2007-04-29	Moe Bertrand's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	A8-3	-	Nice flight of this rocket.
2010-07-18	Ken Tsai's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-6	-	Another solid first flight for another quickie rocket. I thought the split fins might whistle, but...
2011-01-02	Ken Tsai's Estes AGM-57X Heat Seeker	B6-4	-

Estes - AGM-57X Heatseeker (2158) [1998-2004]

Flight Log

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